题目内容
Good Genes Mean Long Life
Scientists have discovered that living to the age of 100 may have nothing to do with the lifestyle you lead and everything to do with the type of genes you have.
For the lucky carriers of “Methuselah” genes, worries over smoking, eating unhealthily and not getting enough exercise may not be as necessary as to those of us without the special gene pattern (组合).
The “Methuselah” genes could give extra protection against the diseases of old age such as cancer and heart disease. They could also protect people against the effects of the unhealthy lifestyles that we believe will lead us to an early death, scientists say. However, the genes are very rare.
The genes include ADIPOQ, which is found in about 10 percent of young people but in nearly 30 percent of people living past 100. They also include the CETP and the ApoC3 genes, which are found in 10 percent of young people, but in about 20 percent of people over 100 years old.
Some of those genes were discovered by a research group at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, led by Professor Nir Barzilai. The team studied the genes of over 500 people over 100 years old, and their children.
The studies show that tiny mutations (变异) in the make-up of some genes can greatly increase a person’s lifespan (寿命). Barzilai told a Royal Society conference that the discovery of such genes gave scientists clear targets for developing drugs that could prevent age-related diseases, allow people to live longer and stay healthy.
David Gems, a researcher at University College London, believes that drugs to slow ageing will become widespread.
“If we know which genes control longevity (长寿) then we can … target them with drugs. That makes it possible to slow down ageing,” he told The Times.
“Much of the pain and suffering in the world are caused by ageing. If we can find a way to reduce that, then we are obliged (义不容辞的) to take it.”
【小题1】According to the article, which of the following is the most important if a person is to live to the age of 100?
A.Eating healthy food every day. | B.Having the right types of genes. |
C.Having a healthy lifestyle. | D.Taking drugs that prevent ageing. |
A.10% | B.20% | C.30% | D.50% |
A.The team studied the genes of over 100 people over 100 years of age. |
B.The researchers found that mutations in certain genes lead to longer life. |
C.The researchers found ways to develop drugs that could cure age-related diseases. |
D.The study suggested that most people have genes that could lengthen their lives. |
A.drugs to slow ageing will be very expensive |
B.modern science will be able to find more longevity genes |
C.it is the duty of medical scientists to fight the problems of ageing |
D.scientists can make new genes that will allow longer life |
【小题1】B
【小题1】B
【小题1】B
【小题1】C
解析
When Jeanne Calment entered the world in 1875, telephones and automobiles still lay in the future. Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso were not yet born. The Eiffel Tower was 14 years from being built. As a teenager, she met Vincent Van Gogh, near her home in Arles, in the south of France. He was “very ugly, ungracious (举止粗俗的), impolite, sick—I forgive him, they called him loco (精神失常的)”, she recalled. When she died last week at age 122, she was the world’s eldest person. (There are others who claimed to the title, but only Calment had the official documents to prove her age.)
Each February 21, her birthday, she would share the secrets of long life. Some years it was “a sense of humour”, others it was “keeping busy”. “God must have forgotten me,” she once explained. The truth probably was that she had good genes: her mother reportedly lived to be 86 and her father 94.
Her life had its sadness: she outlived her husband, her only daughter and her grandson. According to a friend, she was imperturbable. “If you can’t do anything about it,” she reportedly said, “don’t worry about it.”
In her last years she was nearly blind and deaf, but her health remained good. She ate a few bars of chocolate each week and continued smoking until a few years ago, when she could no longer light her own cigarettes. She never lost her sense of humour. On her 110th birthday, she commented, “I’ve only ever had one wrinkle, and I’m sitting on it. “Her longevity made her famous; her spirit made her eternal (永恒的).
【小题1】Why does the author mention Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso and the Eiffel Tower?
A.To show that Calment had seen famous people and things. |
B.To emphasize that Calment was born a long time ago. |
C.To indicate that Calment is just as famous. |
D.To admire the knowledge that Calment had. |
A.a sense of humor | B.being kept busy |
C.belief in God | D.good genes |
A.calm | B.humorous | C.friendly | D.healthy |
A.spirit | B.religious belief | C.knowledge | D.longevity |